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Tuesday May 1, 2012

President’s Update

Greetings! It was great to see many of you at our Plenary Session, and I hope you found it to be a good one. Sharing this event with our CIO colleagues could not have been more well-timed. Now that I have had a chance to recover and can sit back and ponder those age-old travel-related questions (Why peanuts? What’s so special about 10,000 feet? Why is the light in hotel room always so lamp-dependent – and why are there so many different types of switches on lamps? If I don’t use a towel, does it get handed off to the next guest without any sort of inspection?), it seemed like the appropriate time to offer you an update on the details of bill modifications that happened during the week of Plenary and the various things that have happened since.

I trust the term is winding down smoothly for you all – we look forward to seeing many of you at the Leadership and Curriculum Institutes.

UPCOMING EVENTS

2012 Regional Curriculum Meetings
The Academic Senate will host regional curriculum meetings at Woodland College on May 5 and at Long Beach City College on May 12. Primary topics for the meetings will be pre-requisite implementation, the changes to repeatability, and transfer degree development. The May 12 meeting is full, but space remains in the May 5 meeting. More information on these events can be found at the following links:

2012 Faculty Leadership Institute
This year’s event will be held from June 14, 2012 - June 16, 2012 at the Temecula Creek Inn. The deadline to register is May 18, 2012. Registration information is available here. This year we are emphasizing the development of new leaders and are encouraging local senates to encourage new or potential leaders to attend. A draft program will be posted shortly.

2012 SLO Meetings
Two SLO meetings will take place very soon. Be sure to invite your SLO Coordinators to these important trainings. Registration is open now.

2012 Curriculum Institute
It’s not too late to sign up for this years CI – don’t miss out. As always, sessions are designed for attendees of all levels and all curriculum personnel are more than welcome. Join your curriculum colleagues July 12, 2012 - July 14, 2012 at the Hyatt SFO. Register here today.

SSTF

Last week the agenda for the May Board of Governors (BOG) meeting was made available and, fortunately, the Chancellor’s Office apparently heard the many concerns expressed by the Enrollment Priorities Workgroup and Consultation Council regarding the haste at which Title 5 language related to enrollment priorities was moving forward. The item in question, Item 4.4 on the agenda, is an information item as opposed to a first reading (see BOG agenda).

Senate Bill 1456 (Lowenthal) was modified on April 26 (all versions of SB 1456 and SB 1062
are available here). The requirement that BOG Fee Waiver (BOGFW) recipients identify a goal and be subject to a unit cap was removed. The bill still includes the requirement that such students must “meet academic and progress standards determined by the board of governors,” consistent with the position adopted by the body at session (Spring 2012, 20.02. “Academic Progress for Board of Governors Fee Waiver Students”). In addition,
the following language was added:

(3) It is the intent of the Legislature that academic and progress standards defined pursuant to paragraph (1) be implemented only as campuses develop and implement the student support services and interventions necessary to ensure no disproportionate impact to students based on ethnicity, gender, or socioeconomic status.

The changes noted are consistent with those that we have been advocating for. We continue our efforts to address the undefined term “program of study” and to ensure that local supplemental measures used in the assessment process are not prohibited. We will also seek clarification as to the impact of legislating use of a common assessment and/or any assessment when some colleges are exploring the use of alternative means for placement (e.g., grade earned in a high school course).

Legislation

At the Plenary Session, we reaffirmed our opposition to any form of “two-tiered” pricing system in Resolution 06.04 S12 “Tiered Fees in the California Community Colleges”. In this resolution, AB 515 from last year is noted, as is Senate Bill 1550 (SB 1550; Wright, March 30, 2012). While SB 1550 bill was substantially modified on April 11 and a role for the Chancellor’s Office inserted to oversee the eight colleges selected
to participate in the “pilot program,” it still creates a system of differential fees where the selected colleges would be permitted to “establish and maintain an extension program offering career and workforce training courses” and “may establish fees not to exceed the actual cost of maintaining the pilot program.” The Academic Senate will submit a letter expressing its opposition to this bill. If you would like to voice your opposition, please see FACCC’s “point and click” advocacy option."

We’re still keeping a close eye on all relevant legislation and will update you as needed.

In Memoriam - James Leroy Locke

James Leroy Locke passed away peacefully the afternoon of April 9, 2012, in San Rafael, California. Marin County had been his home for over forty of his 68 years. While his graduate studies were formally connected with San Jose State, he completed most of his work at the Moss Landing Marine Laboratory on Monterey Bay. Graduation then began his life long career teaching Earth Sciences at the College of Marin in 1971. It was through COM that he was able to learn, experience and teach his passion for geology and how the earth works, in turn touching so many people's lives.
Jim was diagnosed with Frontotemporal Degeneration, a rare form of dementia, in late 2005. He led a valiant struggle with the degenerative brain disease that marked the last years of his life. Ever strong and willing to get outside until the end, Jim handled his situation with grace and humor.

(The above information regarding Jim Locke was published in Marin Independent Journal on April 20, 2012. )

Jim served on the Executive Committee from 1987 – 1993 in the positions of representative (1987-89), treasurer (1989 – 91), and president (1991-93). Past President Ian Walton fondly remembers Jim from his early days on the Executive Committee. In a personal communication, Ian said “I particularly remember the Spring 1992 Session at the Marriot Santa Clara where I was briefly invited to share the platform with Jim as the welcoming local senate president. As with many other presidents I marveled at his ability to conduct the intricate Saturday business of the Senate with both fun and efficiency.”